Category: 1980s

Through all the Saginaw generations, original songs were the glue that held the summer camp experiences together. The only given at camp was that we sang incessantly. Often it was musical spontaneous combustion…it just happened without any prompting. There were Hill and Acropolis Songs, Big Show Tunes, Color War Songs, Skit Songs, Bunk Songs, League Team Songs, Spirit Chants, Bus Songs, Campfire Songs, Gag Songs, … Continue reading Most Memorable Camp Songs

The Triennial Alumni Reunion was held the weekend of September 16th as it celebrated the 90th anniversary of the arrival in Oxford of our tribe way back in 1927. For over 150 alums from the 1960’s to today, it was your typical Saginaw three-day celebration of good times with good friends and a bit of charitable generosity to boot in support of the Herb Cohen … Continue reading Saginaw Alumni Reunion 2017

Twenty-One, Taps, and H.O.R.S.E. were all regular parts of the free-time recreation buffet on Hill Court. But 3-on-3 was the lynch pin of all of those “pick-up” games and true bragging rights were at stake. It was announced this week that they are adding 3-on-3 Basketball to the Olympics in 2020. Which prompted old, nostalgic minds who edit this website to think, who were the … Continue reading 3-on-3….Best Ever!

Many of us have an old Acropolis Dove, Hill Hawk, or League T-shirt in the back of a drawer or a storage box somewhere that time and personal expansion preclude the possibility of wearing again, but we still hang on to it for the sweet camp memories that it evokes. Well Randi Burak, a Saginaw lifer from 1989 to 1999, came up with a better … Continue reading T-Shirt Memories

The three-year cycle for an on-campus Saginaw Alumni Reunion was renewed on September 23, 2011 under the capable direction of Brian Greene and a few valued co-conspirators. It would be a no holds barred three-day celebration of all the generations of Saginaw Alumni with all the fixins. Unfortunately, as the hourly forecast below would indicate, it started that Friday afternoon under cloud cover and misty … Continue reading Saginaw Alumni Reunion 2011

Upper field was fertile ground for planting seeds of a relationship that could last a lifetime. Couples at Saginaw spent many romantic evenings searching out constellations and other heavenly forms under bright starry skies never imagining where these forays might lead them. For those below it lead to a ceremony with a Marryin’ Sam Ketuba, or a more official one, where they danced the Hora … Continue reading Matrimonial Stakes

As far as central meeting places at Saginaw the most prominent one was The Canteen. It’s location a stones throw from the Mess Hall, Milk Bar, Main Office, and the Infirmary meant you passed by it and through it almost every day. The Canteen was the source of delightful over-the-counter treats like Herr’s Potato Chips (B-B-Que, Sour Cream and Onion, or Plain), M&M’s (plain and … Continue reading The Canteen Tales

Raids are one of the unspoken givens at summer camps. This is where teenagers learn to hone their skills of short-sheeting beds, creative use of toothpaste and shaving cream, hanging undergarments from flag poles, and just creating havoc any way they could. At Saginaw the tradition has strong roots, though people rarely talk about it. Jim Korman relates that when they were campers on the … Continue reading The Last Raid of 1980

There was a simple summer camp rule that the powers that be at Saginaw fully embraced from the very beginning. No camper goes home empty handed! To that end the Saginaw Awards Banquets at the end of the year were like a supermarket sweep for every camper. They were all going home with an armful of awards, certificates, cards, plaques, ribbons, and medals that they … Continue reading Saginaw Awards